I had never seen a sunrise. I just didn’t see the point. Watching a sunrise would be just as exciting as watching a sunset, which, though pretty, wasn’t exactly a novel sight. Then there was the problem of getting up early enough to catch even the last rays of color before the sky turned into a dull blue backdrop. But when I finally caught sight of my first sunrise, it was magical. That’s because it was set above a mirror of clear, crystal waves advancing one by one along the shoreline. My first sight of the sea.        What met my eyes was a crystal cloud displayed like glass, accented with rays of light trying to escape from its overbearing presence. I saw the tide leaving the shore, the retreating waves crashing inwards in some feeble show of resistance. I saw the deep blue waves, not only blue, but many colors both reflecting and drawing out the sunrise above. To say it made an impression would be an understatement. Tolkien’s elves experience similar feelings for the

J.R.R. Tolkien stood in a “woodland glade filled with hemlocks” in Yorkshire England, where he was serving in the army and recovering from trench fever in 1972. His wife Edith was with him, and there she started dancing, leaving the memory deep within his conscience. That experience evolved into the first epic of Middle Earth, Beren and Lúthien. “She was the source of the story that in time would become the chief part of the Silmarillion ” (Letters 420). Indeed, it’s not hard to find parallels between the story of two lovers and Tolkien’s own life. However, it was hardly the first time (or the last) that his experiences made their way into his writing. The story of Beren and Lúthien features Beren, a man, who discovers Lúthien, an immortal elf, dancing in a “woodland glade” and falls in love with her. However, the lovers’ plight is doomed since her father decreed they cannot get married until Beren recaptures one of the Silmarils, a hopeless task, from the crown of Morgoth, the dar

Artist's rendering of the Eye of Sauron atop Salesforce Tower       Two days ago I was surfing the web when an interesting petition came up from Change.org. “Turn Salesforce Tower into the Eye of Sauron on Halloween Night!” it said. The Salesforce tower is the largest tower in San Francisco. According to Wikipedia, “The crown of the tower features a nine-story electronic sculpture...that features low resolution, abstract videos of San Francisco that will be filmed each day.” The petition included a picture imagining how the tower would look if the Eye of Sauron was featured as the exhibit on Halloween night.       I was happy to sign. Imagine, Salesforce Tower would be Barad-Dur and the whole city of San Francisco Mordor for Halloween. At the time they had about 10,000 out of 15,000 signatures. Researching the subject online, I found that the chances of them succeeding were quite slim. Although I am unable to find the article now, I found out that the owners of the

We all know about the tragedy that takes place at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring; Boromir’s betrayal of the Fellowship’s trust and his mission. Although we start catching glimpses of the catastrophe that will come to the Fellowship and the Quest long before, I think it still comes somewhat as a surprise to the reader.       However, should this really be a surprise? Considering the pull of the Ring, someone was bound to bend under its influence. Does the fact that the someone was Boromir make him evil? I know that his betrayal is a sore blow to the Quest, but was it necessary for its completion? I think it might not only have been necessary but the essential element that propelled the Quest to the finish line. The Ring’s Effects       From the very beginning, even as far back as Chapter 1 “A Long-Expected Party”, the Ring’s pull is evidenced in the confrontation between Bilbo and Gandalf. When Gandalf requests that Bilbo leave the ring behind to his nephew, Frodo,